Help - cant get 2 week old to sleep :cry:

Last week we were struggling with breastfeeding but have had loads of help from clinics etc. Just as we're starting to solve the difficulties with b/f a new problem arises... we cant get him to sleep between feeds :cry:

Alex is now 14 days old, and tends to feed every 2.5 - 3 hours during the day, it can take up to 10 mins to burp him sometimes longer, then he has a nappy change. We tired some cuddle/play time so he really ready for sleep before putting him down but it hasnt helped. Hes such a wriggler he breaks free of swaddle robes or swaddling him in a blanket so thats not helping much either - the only time he seems to settle is being held upright on one of us (not good I know) but everytime you put him down he just starts again. Its only been the last couple of days hes had this many problems sleeping,

I'm so confused not to menton tired as I cant get any naps when I dont know if he will settle or not? DH goes back to work tomorrow and my mum can only stay 2 more nights, so I'm starting to worry how I'll cope on my own

Sorry you're having a tough time, we all have those days I can assure you so don't despair! x

I think you're talking about daytime sleeps as well as nightime?

When I want lo to settle I always change her before a feed - as the feed helps ease her off to sleep - you might want to change the order of things to see if this works at all as I noticed you change him after the feed which might be stimulating him and therefore waking him up more? Also, someone else suggested before that you put something in the moses basket that smells of you as it might help him sleep if he can still smell mummy - I've not had the need to try this but it does sound very logical and might help a little.

At nightime I make sure that I don't talk to my lo and keep the room dimly lit - and then place her back in her basket after a feed - so she's starting (I think) to realise that this is night time not play time.

During the day though I change her after her feed so that she doesn't sleep all day and to keep her awake a bit and help her get some stimulation from me/play mat/toys etc.

The only other thing I would say is that my lo does have awake days where she doesn't want to sleep much during the daytime - and there's no rule that says she has to - so maybe place him on the play mat and let him have a kick about and tire himself out kicking and playing?

Your lo is 14 days old and sounds very normal to me - sleepless nights, feeding regularly etc - my brain has turned to mush from sleep deprivation lol

We went through a phase between 2-3weeks where ds would only fall asleep upright on one of us and woke as soon as put down. We still have moments when he is like this but our saving grace has been the bouncy chair, he wasn't interested in it to begin with but found bouncing him as well as the vibrations kept him happy and he now very often falls asleep in it. Tbh after the first couple of weeks by ourselves things got easier, not being able to give him to oh and just having to get on with it we both got used to and you find your feet x

I agree, do the nappy change before the feed and let him drop off to sleep on the boob if need be. I wouldn't worry about playing with him to get him tired, I should think you are probably over-stimulating him by this, newborns are tired all the time anyway and don't need much to feel worn out, a nappy change is a big enough ordeal for them sometimes! Don't worry about setting up bad habits, there's no such thing at this age, really there isn't, basically you just want a happy rested baby and a happy rested mum and my advice would be to get this by any means and worry about methods later down the line.

I always found a bath helped and they're never too young for a little bedtime routine, decide what time to give him the bath each evening and stick to it like glue, say 6.00pm or something, not too late and after that keep everything calm and tank him up with as much boob as you can, I bet he'll sleep for a few hours! Do this the same time every evening and before you know where you are you have a bedtime.

Otherwise it's perserverence. At such a young age lo should still be sleeping most of the day. So as others have said try to reduce stimulation when you think he's tired. If he's awake and happy, then don't worry. He'll sleep when he needs to. xx

we used a hoover noise cd and it worked a treat between 3-6 weeks then he didnt want anything at all - no dummy no mobile and that is how he goes to sleep now also at 8 months.

if you dont want the "bad habits" then try some soft techniques like stroking their head to calm them and not picking them up that way they wont expect a mummy cuddle and will hopefully understand sleep time. We did this in tobys crib and i would say it worked almost immediately - the only thing that would prevent this would be wind/colic/reflux. Does he sound in pain when he is crying? x

Thanks for all the advice.... It's daytime sleeping at themoment, think he's too exhausted by the time evening comes and besides he's been tanked up with what feels like all evening. Guess we have to keep on trying and hope it's the heat or a phase and not wind/colic/reflux

I was going to say if he is more comfortable sleeping upright it could be acid reflux. I would mention it to your hv. I had a lot of problems with caleb at the start. The thought it may have been this and gave me infant gaviscon. Turns out it never helped and they said it may have been a milk alergy (i had this when i was a baby too) i changed him to hypoalergenic milk this week prescribed by the doctor and its so much better. Hope you get it sorted and get some sleep hunny xxx

anyway, just wanted to say that DD was exactly the same at that age and to be honest she was like that for a few weeks. We did used to change her nappy when she woke up rather than after a feed so that if she fell asleep on the boob I could just ease her off and leave her to sleep. Her fave place in the whole world was sleeping on mine or hubby's chest and she did this all day and once she'd woken up at 5am every morning..... I was terrified about getting her into bad habits but too tired not to do it.... anyway after about 6 weeks or so she suddenly decided she didn't want to sleep on us anymore and started sleeping on her bean bag or in the pram.

Sooooo that big long ramble was supposed to say do whatever it takes to get through these first few weeks, and I promise it will get easier.

big (((((((hugs)))))))

xxxx

ps - well done for getting him to sleep at nights!and pps - I used to sleep with Immy on me on the sofa during the day (bad mummy I know....) but it was the only way she could get some sleep and I could function properly.